Category Archives: printable

C’s 1st birthday party was outside, and the week leading up to it I was glued to the weather channel. I loved the outdoor party vibe so much, we risked it again. Thankfully I wasn’t as stressed this year! … but I was a bit worried as we woke to overcast skies. Turned out, Mother Nature had a present for C too – a rain free day !

C’s daddy and I headed to Claudette Cain Park in Ottawa early on Sunday morning to start setting up the balloon themed birthday party!

I set my own record with 765 photos taken! So I thought I would share bits and parts of the party with you through different posts. Many ideas were collected on Pinterest and can be found here.

This first post is about balloon themed party food. I had too much fun with this!

We also have some printable party food labels for your in .jpeg format and water bottle and juice box label freebies for download. I printed them onto 4×6 cardstock and folded it over to make a tent card, but you can use the images so many other ways! {clicking the image will open it so you can save to your computer}

{meringue rainbow clouds}

{timbits are a staple play date item with our group so I had to incorporate into the party food – timbit balloons – yum!}

{Balloon cake pops! stand created by wrapping floral foam, cardboard boxes, and decorating! and of course a special cupcake with candles for the birthday girl…that never got lit…more on going with the flow at your kiddos birthday party in a later post!}

The cake pops created by a dear friend were certainly a hit!

For the tots, the take aways and party activities, we stayed with the balloon theme/outdoor!

Because only one or two of the guests were old enough to recognize their name, we personalized loot bags with the kiddos pics

You can also visit Catch My Party, where C’s Outdoor Balloon Birthday Party was featured!

I teach, contractually, students at the college level – so the end of the semester, and the beginning of May, for me symbolizes a time to slow down, gather my thoughts, take care of myself in a better way and finish the number of projects I started but slowly lost priority in every day life. I have yet to do any of this so far in the month of May – and it is almost over! May has turned out to be a month of finishing up & preparing for work, attending meetings and conferences, dance rehearsals & recitals, baseball practices & games, swimming lessons, birthday parties and medical appointments.

In the midst of all of this I have struggled to maintain balance…and I have failed….taking care of my children’s lives and work came first. And although these are things I love – I am disappointed that I did not set better boundaries to do the things I set out do do at the beginning of the month. This really hit yesterday when I realized that my 21 years anniversary since we have been together as a couple passed with only a phone call and greeting of “Merry 17th“ to my husband to commemorate the day. I usually make a bigger deal of this as it is a special day. I am not ok with this path I seem to be following. I need to adjust my mind to realign with my heart and soul to make different choices on how I spend my time, so I create the flow not follow it. I started thinking about what I need to do this.

One of my favorite quotes that I used as a life motto for many years is `You are not defined by what has happened to you in the past. You future is defined by what you want for the future` ~Unknown. It is time to gain some perspective. Time to think about more than the work that is waiting to be finished and what is on the schedule for the day. Setting long term goals helps remind me of the life I want and the groove I am striving to attain. Because I only get one chance as me in this life and when I am old and sitting in my rocking on my front porch the memories that I want to sustain me are the ones I want to create. I came across a great tool for long term goal setting on the Lululemon website, you can type write into the PDF and print it: http://www.lululemon.com/education/goalsetting

As I complete this form I am inspired – I am reminded of the possibilities life has to offer and a little less lost in the busyness of everyday.

To all the Mama’s out there – celebrate today. Do something special for yourself – guilt free – you are deserving! For all of you who have a Mom or know a Mom – do something to remind them how special they are.

I printed this and put it in a white frame from the dollar store and put it in the center of my kitchen table. It brightened up the room and reminded me to be good to myself this week – because of who I am and all I do.

Summer is in the air here in Ottawa today and my C and I got to celebrate the sunshine and warmth with Purple Eggplant Mel’s kiddos.

And I am lucky enough to take full advantage of this sun by spending the evening outside tonight at a BBQ. Something about having snow for so many months of the year that makes days like this that much sweeter.

I was in need of a pot luck item and a hostess gift and thought, hey, this would make a great Friday Find !

Before summer BBQs and parties get into full swing, we have a brilliant idea from the Idea Room to share with you…and a Summer Fresh Bean Salad recipe of our own!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I see all these super wicked hostess gifts on Pinterest, but never get around to actually making one. This is one that will be your go to – or at least it will be mine this summer ! So simple, adorable and brilliant ! You need only 5 supplies and it comes with a free printable. Check out the Homemade Lemonade printable and summer hostess gift from the Idea Room here.

It comes together so nicely ! Hmmmm…But I think I need to pick up some yellow chevron ribbon ! I always feel a sense of fulfillment when I actually put my pins to use!

Pulling together these simple, seasonal and fresh ingredients will make you the hit of any backyard summer party. And your body will thank you too ! We at Purple Eggplant are thinking more and more about eating healthy and whole foods, and this fits right in.

do you read Jodi Picoult’s books? her books are the only one’s i will pay full hard cover price for ! aaaaaaa-mazing reads!

ever since My Sisters Keeper, i have been a devout follower. i realized i had been missing out on years of her books, but caught myself up…fast ! definite page turners about characters experiencing real life issues.

my favorite quote comes from her book, Picture Perfect. i remember reading this passage years ago and it stood out so much i wrote it down. it was at a time in my own life where i finally got it right…and never turned back.

{ printable created with moroccan tile paper freebie from Mel Stampz …loads of great digital paper on her site! }

there is nothing much that i enjoy more than spending time with all the kiddos i am lucky enough to have in my life.

such joy. such bare-everything honesty. such unique and wonderful personalities.

knowing that there would be 8 kiddos under the age of 4 – mostly 2 & 3s – coming to the lil bunnies party, i was certain that my preparation and activity choices would either make or break my sanity. at least I knew the 2 older kiddos coming might balance the crazy out a bit !

decorations were kept simple. my kiddo helped me decorate and we kept it kid friendly. i admit i was disappointed that my chevron runner had not arrived in time – you can wipe it and everything ! c’est la vie. the checked table cloth worked just as well !

my sweet C was so excited she literally sat the entire morning at the table waiting for the party. from the minute she woke up saying “i didnt know you did this!!” when she saw the table…she parked herself in her spot and only got up to get dressed and then answer the door. “i love having parties” she kept saying. her momma’s daughter – i think so !

i kept the activities simple and basically without the need for much facilitating. i wanted to spend time giggling and playing and eating and chatting. this was important to me about this day. getting to BE with everyone i so love.

there was a plastic egg bin for sorting, matching, stacking, counting, finding – some kind of fun for most ages. and an easter egg felt board activity.

there was a craft table with basic easter craft supplies with which the kiddo made marvelous creations

we also had a mini egg hunt. i debated having an egg hunt. for a few reasons. the first is i that did not want to take away from the big hunt that the bunny would unleash on easter morning. the second reason was how the heck do you make a hunt that is fair and not insane for 10 kiddos at such different ages. so simple it was. a practice run for the real bunny hunt coming the next morning. each kiddo was given a paper bag with a hand drawn colored egg. the challenge was to find 4 eggs that were the same color as the egg on the paper bag. see, i told you simple ! and the older kiddos that came were super duper egg hiders who snuck away while the lil bunnies were having their pancake brunch.

fun and simplified munchies were served. we had pancakes with plastic eggs filled with berries, marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate chips prepared the night before.